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Winter 2014-2015 Volume 72 LEE V BELLTEL RETIREE The Official Newsletter for Union and Management Retirees and Employees of Bell Atlantic, GTE, Idearc/SuperMedia/DexMedia, NYNEX, MCI, Verizon and its Subsidiaries. Paid for by contributions from Verizon and Idearc/SuperMedia/DexMedia retirees. Winter 2014-2015 Volume 72 LEE V. VERIZON LITIGATION UPDATE Recalling the Miracle By Curtis L. Kennedy, Esq. Below is an update written for the on Second Avenue members of the Association of BellTel he 2nd Avenue disaster was the York City Firefighters and 16 hours to Retirees Inc. largest loss of telephone service extinguish. Over 235 firefighters were Lee, et., al., v. Verizon Communi - from fire in the United States injured as the huge blaze practically cations Inc. – Now before the Federal T history, until the World Trade Center shut down the parts of the city with its Appeals Court. was attacked on September 11, 2001. dark smoke clouds, closing nearby On August 4, 2014, the opening What began as a major catastrophe, Stuyvesant High School and forcing appellate brief was filed in the New turned out in the end to be somewhat patients at the New York Ear and Eye Orleans federal appeals court in the of a victory for the “get it done atti - Infirmary to be evacuated. case of Lee, et., al., v. Verizon Commu - tude” of the Bell System workers. “It’s unbelievable. It’s like a movie. nications Inc. , which case concerns Ver - On February 27, 1975, there was a It’s the fire in the phone company izon’s transfer of 41,000 management major 5-Alarm fire at New York Tele - down there. It’s a very smoky fire. The retirees out of the company’s pension phone’s Second Avenue building in smoke extends all the way down to plan into a group insurance annuity the center of New York City. The Queens,” said radio journalist George sponsored by The Prudential Insurance building housed the main distribution Meade- who was reporting from a hel - Company of America. frame that served customers in lower icopter above the disaster site. The transfer of the retirees was not Manhattan and Brooklyn. With the Once the fire was controlled, the in the best interests of the retirees who 40 th anniversary of that fire approach - true scope of its damage to the New had no say in the matter. As a result of ing, we thought it would be important York telephone system was revealed. A being transferred out of the pension to recall the hard work, sacrifice and 300-block area was left isolated with - plan, the retirees have lost all federal valiant effort put forth by many thou - out any phone connections at all. The protections and federal rights, are now sands of telephone industry employees first two floors of the 2 nd Avenue Bell subject to differing and inferior state who managed to get more than Building were destroyed, ruining the laws, and they must exclusively depend 170,000 affected customers phone entire main distributing frame, 31,000 upon the fortunes of a single insurance lines restored in record time. With a switches, and 208 cables in the vault company. History has proven that no herculean effort, a project that would single insurance company is too big to typically require up to two years of (Continued on page 6) fail. work, was accomplished in just three Verizon stands out as the lone busi - weeks. ness entity within this country that nei - We present the “Miracle on Second ther consulted with its retirees nor Avenue:” allowed them a choice when making a It was a disaster that struck cus - decision to transfer retirees out of a tomers of the New York Telephone defined benefit pension plan into an Company, but the disaster response was insurance annuity. Verizon’s expulsion massive and on a national scale by oper - of retirees from an ongoing pension ating companies and their staff from all plan is unprecedented. across the U.S. It was a nationwide Not only did Verizon violate the effort on the part of The Bell Company rights of the management-classified and Western Electric to get the phones o retirees when the corporation transferred c s i c across key parts of New York City to f $7.5 billion in liabilities to Prudential, o y buzz again. s e the company used an additional almost t r The five-alarm fire took 700 New u o (Continued on page 5) C 2 BellTel Retiree Winter 2014-2015 pieces of federal legislation, one in the U.S. Senate and another in the House of Repre - sentatives were recently achieved and this is something you are certain to hear more about in the new year when our pro-retiree legislation will be reintroduced. In fact that legislative advocacy on behalf of retirees was recently recog - President’s Message nized in a feature story pub - by C. William Jones lished in both The Atlantic BellTel leaders Jack Cohen and Jack Brennan. and National Journal . s the year closes, we have a lot to This year your Association was again I am also thankful to say that I will be proud of and some ongoing successful in achieving improved share - stay on as President Emeritus and con - concerns to be mindful of as owner protections via the Verizon share - tinue serving as the ProtectSeniors.Org A owner proxy, as the company agreed to Chairman of the Board. It has been a well. Throughout 2013 and 2014 we have implement the terms of two of our pro - very exciting and fulfilling eighteen years made progress through face-to-face and posals into its bylaws. Over the years leading this organization. Your support written communications with Pruden - your Association has passed three impor - over these years has been wonderful. tial, which now oversees the pension tant proxy bylaw changes winning a Speaking of support, I cannot let this assets of 41,000 of our members. In majority share vote, with eight more opportunity pass without thanking the recent weeks several more major U.S. proxy changes that the company negoti - tens-of-thousands of retirees that have corporations including Motorola and ated off the ballot with us. Because of entrusted us with your hard-earned Bristol-Myers Squibb have sold off their these efforts, our Association is recog - money and faith. As the year 2014 retirees’ pension assets to Prudential. nized as the most successful shareowner comes to a close, I will make one more This is yet another sign that retirees advocacy group in the nation. plea for contributions. need to continue their vigilance and On the litigation side, our attorney, We, presently, are trailing 2013 in active advocacy to protect our collective Curtis Kennedy, has filed the final brief terms of contributions. I know that economic futures. in the Federal Appellate Court for the many of our members like to make that We will see some new documents on Lee v. Verizon case. This is the final step tax-deductible contribution in Decem - Prudential’s web site, that will address in this case and we hope that the three- ber. So I call out to those great, gener - the concerns of our retirees who were judge panel will find in our favor. It will ous contributors to make your dona - transferred out of the Verizon Pension probably be three or more months tions to our Association as generous as Plan and into an annuity held by Pru - before the hearing. We will notify possible. I am also reaching out to dential. These documents were a col - members when that date is fixed. everyone else to consider an additional laborative effort to provide helpful At the end of this year, I will be retir - contribution. As a professional fund- information to annuitants. The Associ - ing from the position as President & raiser once told me when I was Chair - ation web site will have a link to the Executive Director of our Association. man of a YMCA in Maryland, “give Prudential web site. At the same time, The growth and achievement of this until you are proud!” Prudential has been working with our organization has meant so much to my Thank you all for your support and attorney to help develop model state fellow retirees and me. It is why I am friendship and here’s to an even stronger legislation to replace important retiree delighted to inform you that following 2015 for our Association and our mem - economic protections that were lost by an election by the board, our Associa - bership. the transfer. Our legislative partner, tion’s longtime Chairman Jack Bren - ProtectSeniors.Org, will be working nan will step into the position as Presi - hard to push this new state legislation dent and Executive Director and our — Advertisements — longtime Executive Vice President Jack All representations made in adver - and you can help when the time is right. tisements are solely the responsi - ProtectSeniors.Org has also made Cohen will assume the Chairmanship of the board, resulting in a seamless bility of the advertiser. The Asso - progress in federal legislation that will, if ciation of BellTel Retirees is not passed, add new federal laws giving organizational transition. The three of us have been working closely with the responsible for any such represen - more protections for retirees’ earned tations. The Association does not healthcare and other benefits. Two new board on strategy and priorities for 2015. endorse any advertiser. Winter 2014-2015 BellTel Retiree 3 80% Medicare Eligible Management Retirees Give Healthcare Feedback By Jack Cohen than one-third of respondents still have They acknowledge that they have run he Association of BellTel at least one medical provider that will into provider issues.
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